


Sundays with Charles

by Cherikella



Series: Sundays with Charles [1]
Category: Cherik - Fandom, X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Erik is not a Happy Bunny, M/M, Parenthood, charles has a baby face, dadneto, kids being wild
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-06-03 15:59:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6616693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherikella/pseuds/Cherikella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik is a struggling single dad. His life is a mess, he's constantly drowning in problems - financial, emotional and parental - until one day it hits him! A car hits him actually... and it changes his life forever. Because that is when he meets Charles Xavier - a young man who brings sunlight and smiles back to the Lehnsherr family.<br/>However Erik realizes his feelings for Charles change from friendship to something else and that is a big no in Erik's book.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You can find a Spanish translation [here](https://www.wattpad.com/260244187-domingos-con-charles-cherik-by-cherikella) , thanks to the lovely [charlesfterik](https://www.wattpad.com/user/-charlesfterik) ! Thank you so much, dear, for taking the time and effort to translate this story! It means so much to me!

Erik locked the door of his little hardware shop and snuggled in the collar of his thin coat. It was winter and really cold but he could not afford a better coat for the life of him. He glanced absentmindedly at his watch and saw it was almost 8 pm. He had less than 40 minutes to get home so he walked really fast to the subway station. Sometimes he wished he knew someone who could magically teleport him from one place to another. He chuckled at the thought. A grown man with two kids waiting for him at home, thinking about magic and teleportation; it was ridiculous. He spent the rest of the walk concentrating on his problems, mainly the fact that he still had huge difficulties making ends meet.

Lost in thought he did not see the car that hit him until he was sitting on the ground, holding his head with his hand and trying to understand why was there blood on it.

—«·»—

A bunch of people surrounded him. A few of them yelled “Someone call an ambulance!” but didn’t think to call it themselves. Others were simply standing by.

Erik looked at the car that hit him, his vision was bleary, there was ringing in his head. In all the commotion Erik could see a young man in a blue coat, soft brown hair and the bluest blue eyes Erik had ever seen jumping out of the backseat of the car and rushing towards him, face pale as if he’d seen a ghost. Erik saw this in slow motion, surrounded by fog so that the figure by his side was basically the brightest thing in the whole picture. Erik frowned.  

“Oh, my God!” the young man exclaimed “Are you alright?”

In less than a second he was by Erik’s side, holding the hand that wasn’t covered in blood and examining Erik carefully.

“Can you hear me? Can you speak? Do you know who you are? How many fingers am I holding up?” the questions flooded Erik’s brain like a storm.

“I like your voice…” Erik mumbled under his breath and felt weak, his eyes closing on their own.

“No, no, no, no, no! Don’t fall asleep now! You have to stay awake!”

Warm hands were slapping his cheeks. All he could see was blue… more blue… The stranger’s eyes, he realized distantly.

“I need to go—“Erik made another effort to get up on his legs “I have to be home by 8:30…” he was doing all the motions of walking but he was not moving. It took him a few minutes to notice that he was not even up on his feet yet.

“You’ll be home soon.” The blue-eyed person said “You’ll be alright!”

The rest was a blur. The ambulance was there shortly and they took care of Erik, bringing him back to consciousness.

—«•»—

He was now sitting on a chair with a blanket and drinking hot tea, staring at his hands awkwardly. The blood was now gone but his hands were still shaking. He tried to control that when he saw a pair of shoes stopping in front of him. Erik lifted his gaze to see…

“You…” he said, vague memories of blue eyes coming back to him. The young man that had been imprinted in his memory for the last two hours turned out to be actually a boy. He looked not older than 17. 18 at the most.

“Yes…” the boy said “I’m terribly sorry about this! I really should fire my driver.”

Erik chuckled bitterly. _Driver!_ Erik sneered in his mind. _This kid already had a freaking driver! Talking about a spoiled brat!_

The boy quickly sat down on the chair next to Erik’s, bringing it closer. “Look, I’m really so very sorry. I’m just so glad you’re alive! And okay!”

“Yeah. I’m glad too” Erik mumbled, sipping his drink.

“I’m Charles.” The boy offered his hand “Charles Xavier.”

“Bond.” Erik replied, face serious and unreadable “James Bond.”

“What, seriously!?” the boy gasped with a small laugh and Erik raised an eyebrow. “Of course. Very amusing.” The boy—Charles – cleared his throat and smiled.

Erik looked back at his paper cup.

“Well, I understand if you’d rather be left alone now…” Charles Xavier continued “But here’s my card and if you ever need anything, please, don’t hesitate to call me.”

Erik frowned. He didn’t need any cards!

“Please, just take it.” Charles Xavier said, practically shoving his card in Erik’s top pocket. “I feel responsible for what happened.”

“You should.” Erik said, flatly “It was your car.”

Charles Xavier swallowed, feeling uncomfortable. Erik looked him in the eye intensely for a few moments that felt like forever. The blue eyes looked earnest and kind but also full of mysteries Erik had no time to uncover.

“Right. Yes, that’s true.” Charles finally said and looked away, pursing his lips. He was about to say something else but Erik interrupted him, not really interested in what that kid had to say.

“What time is it?” he asked

“Oh, um…” he looked at his golden watch “Almost 10 pm”

“Damn!” Erik mumbled under his breath. He was late.

“You really shouldn’t worry about the time, your health is most important and you need to take care of yourse—“

“Do me a favour, kid.” Erik said, jumping off the chair “Get rid of this for me.” He shoved the empty paper cup in the boy’s pale hands and strode off.

—«·»—

He got up a bit too fast and his head was still dizzy but the good news was that this Charles Xavier person apparently paid for whatever they did to Erik in the hospital so now he was free to go. He still had to spend money on transport – money he was hoping to save but he had to be grateful for still being alive at the moment.

By the time he got home it was half past 11 and the first thing he saw when he opened the door of the small flat was Angel’s worried face. 

“I’m sorry I’m late…” he mumbled, closing the door behind him

“What happened?” she exclaimed, her eyes quickly darting to his head where the bandage was still soaked in his blood. “Is that blood? Are you alright!?”

“I’m fine.” He insisted “I got hit by a car… on my way home… They took me to a hospital. That’s why I’m late… Sorry.” He pursed his lips. “How much extra do I owe you?”

“Forget the extra! You’re lucky you’re alive!” she gave a hushed exclamation. So the kids were probably asleep, then, Erik noted to himself.  

“Let’s not talk about this, Angel.” He said, flopping on the couch. He was so tired. And the accident did not make things any better. “Just tell me how much I owe you for staying the extra time and you’re free to go.”

She crossed her arms and made her sass face. Erik was pretty familiar with Angel’s sass face. He also knew what a great effect that face had on his children. Come to think of it, that sass face was probably the main reason he hired Angel to be Pietro and Wanda’s nanny in the first place.

“I’m sorry, Angel. Not tonight. I really can’t talk about this.” He sighed and added “Or anything else really.”

“I know. You’re pretty asocial. You never talk.” She sat down on the coach next to him. “Wanda waited for you until 10:30. She refused to go to bed until you were back. She wanted to show you a paper doll she made.” Erik smiled softly “She was pretty disappointed when you didn’t show up… again…” the smile faded on Erik’s face. “I had to do a lot of talking to calm her down and make her sleep.”

“Thanks for that, Angel” he said

She shrugged. “Pietro’s mad at you. Again.”

“Of course.” He sighed, closing his tired eyes

“I couldn’t really talk him out of that…”

“It’s okay. I’ll deal with it.” He said

“Oh, yeah?” she raised an eyebrow “When?”

Erik opened his mouth to reply but then closed it again.

“Exactly.” Angel nodded, shaking her head.

“I have to feed them. If it takes hating me for not being around, so be it.”

“Which reminds me… the landlord came to say you’re three months behind…” Angel added

“It’s raining good news today!” Erik rolled his eyes

“Yeah, I know how it is” She chuckled, tapping him on the shoulder like a bro.

“Here’s my wallet, take whatever you need for the extra time and thanks for waiting up.” He said

“Of course, I’d wait up. I’m your nanny.” She grinned

“You’ve no idea what kind of nannies I had around here before you came along. Trust me, you’re the best.”

“I know” she chuckled and got up “Okay, leaving now, boss. See you again Monday.”

“Yeah.”

“You gonna be okay? With the—head and all?” she asked, pointing casually at his bandaged wound

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” She smiled again and left.

Erik stood there in the dark living room, staring blankly at the black screen of the TV. After a while he went to check up on his sleeping kids and kissed their foreheads, then went to bed.

—«·»—

There was no way he could get the rent money in time to pay the landlord. Food was scarce and the bills seemed to rise higher and higher each day. The kids were running around the room – Pietro had stolen Wanda’s doll again, threatening to behead the poor thing and Wanda, naturally, was hysterical at the thought. Erik pleaded for a hundredth time that they don’t fight but his fruitless yelling went ignored as usual. He sighed and tried to concentrate on his calculations. There must be some way he could scrape at least a few hundred dollars more… Unfortunately that seemed not very likely.

A thought crossed his mind and he sat down at his computer, typing _Charles Xavier_ in the search box. A few pages of results instantly popped up and Erik’s brows went straight up. Apparently, the Xavier family was quite well off and famous in high society circles. Erik just didn’t know it because he was never really interested in gossip, never checked the yellow pages.

After opening one of the results featuring Kurt Marko and his lovely wife Sharon on their boat with their smiling children Charles and Cain, Erik felt ridiculous and cut his internet search short.

He stared at the card young Xavier gave him in the hospital and after a long struggle he finally picked up his phone and dialed the number.

A few long moments passed. All Erik could hear was his own slow breathing and the beeps of the phone calling. Then suddenly a cheerful voice, saying:

_“Hi! You’ve reached my number, good for you! Congratulations! But unfortunately, you still haven’t reached me. So call back or leave a message after the beep. Beep! *laughter* Just kidding! That’s not the real beep. I meant after this beep.” *beep*_

Erik rolled his eyes. This kid was ridiculous! But he had to speak now!

“Hello… It’s Erik Lehnsherr…” he shut his eyes with a grimace, realizing that he didn’t really tell Charles his name. Well, maybe the hospital did when Charles paid all the bills? “From the hospital” he added “Your driver hit me with your car?” Erik’s voice didn’t sound very friendly but then again Erik never did sound friendly so there was little he could do about it now. “Anyway, I was just calling to see if… maybe we could meet… So… yeah. That’s it. See you. Maybe. Bye.”

He threw the phone on the couch with a groan. What, the hell, was he doing!?

—«·»—

“Pietro, come back here and eat your lunch now!” Erik demanded, trying to find his son who was hiding somewhere in the house. It was beyond Erik to comprehend how this little boy managed to find any hiding places at all in this small flat. “Pietro! Ugh! Wanda, where’s your brother?”

The little girl looked up at him with big innocent eyes. “I can’t tell you, daddy” she said in her little voice

“Wanda…” he sighed

“Pietro said he’d break my favourite doll if I tell!” she insisted

“I’ll get you a new doll, just tell me!”

“You won’t get me a new doll, daddy.” She said quietly and Erik felt his heart breaking. Even his 7 year old daughter understood how bad his bank account was at the moment.

He opened his mouth to say something when the doorbell interrupted him. Erik frowned. He did not expect any company.

He opened the front door only to see the bright smiling face of Charles Xavier.

“Xavier?” Erik said confused

“Call me Charles, please.” The boy said.

He was wearing an elegant dark blue coat with a blue scarf and his wavy hair was falling perfectly on his forehead.  

“What are you doing here?” Erik blurted out, feeling self-conscious with stains from Pietro’s lunch on his sweatshirt, with messy hair and an unruly chaos and piles of toys behind his back.

“You said you wanted us to meet.” Charles explained, glancing behind Erik with unmasked curiosity.

Wanda was hiding under a chair, curious about the newcomer but feeling too shy to show herself yet.

“Yes, yes, I know but I didn’t expect you to show up here!” Erik continued “I live here.”

“Yes, I know.” Charles grinned amused and took out his phone from his pocket. “It’s a new app. My friend Tony made it and we’re still testing it. It’s supposed to track the caller’s whereabouts in less than 20 seconds. Imagine how useful it could be for tracking criminals and ransom seekers and all that.”

Erik blinked a few times. “I’m not asking for ransom.” He said stupidly

“I know!” the boy laughed even more amused now “I’m only testing the app, helping a friend out and attempting to surprise you. So… Surpriiiise!”

Erik was still staring dumbfounded at Charles and his attempt at jazz hands when he heard Wanda’s little laughter from behind him.

Charles grinned even more brightly – if that was even possible – and crouched down to be at the same eye level with the little girl. “And who is this lovely young lady?” he asked in a friendly voice

“Wanda Lehnsherr.” The little girl said, still half hidden but now behind her father’s leg.

Erik thought he was dreaming. Wanda never talked in front of strangers. Not since her mother—. Well, she never did that! She was too shy. And this Charles got her name in less than 20 seconds!? Even Erik couldn’t make Wanda talk when she refused to.

“Wanda!” Charles exclaimed excitedly “That’s such a pretty name. I’m Charles. Doesn’t sound as pretty, I know.” He chuckled and Wanda smiled at him, _actually smiled!_ It was a day of miracles, Erik thought!

“Charles sounds good too.” the little girl said, putting her raggedy doll in front of her face to hide her grin.

“Oh, thank you, Wanda! Now every time someone says my name isn’t pretty, I’ll tell them they’re wrong because a lovely young lady likes it.”

She beamed into a warm smile and looked up at Erik “Daddy, I like him. Don’t let him leave yet.”

Erik was still too confused to make sense but he nodded at his daughter, assuring her that Charles would stay for tea.

“Coffee, please.” Charles corrected as he entered the flat and made himself at home on the couch in the living room amongst the pile of toys and bits of broken play things. “I’m tired of everyone offering me bad tea just because of my accent so I decided to surprise them all.”

“You seem to like surprises.” Erik noted matter-of-factly as he put away Pietro’s plate that he was holding all this time and turned towards Charles.

“So you have a kid.” Charkes smiled

Wanda had disappeared from sight for a moment and Erik vaguely registered that he had no idea where she went exactly.

“Yes. Two, actually.” He said “The boy’s hiding somewhere.”

“Oh! Wow. Two. Impressive.” Charles nodded, looking around

“It’s usually not so messy here… It’s just that I’m home and they don’t listen to me.” Erik mumbled, trying to shove some of the toys away to make the place look more decent.

“It’s okay. They’re kids, not prisoners.” Charles said.

“When Angel is here they behave much better…” Erik said awkwardly

“Their mother?” Charles asked

“No, the nanny.” Erik replied, feeling his chest tighten a bit so he hurriedly changed the subject  “So now that I’m the only supervision they get, we live in a mess!”  

Charles laughed brightly and shook his head. “It doesn’t bother me.”

Erik rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, when you’re my age, it will bother you.”

Charles chuckled at that remark and was about to say something when Wanda reappeared with a bunch of dolls in her folded arms.

“Oh! I see where this is going.” Charles grinned, shifting in his seat to give more space for Wanda and her toys.

“These are mine. I made this one out of spare parts.” She said, showing him her dolls. “She’s not very beautiful… Pietro calls her Frankenstein’s monster…”

“Are you kidding me!?” Charles exclaimed, taking the doll in his hands “She’s remarkable! I know for sure that my friend Tony would love her so much! He does that for a living, y’know. Putting things together and creating something new out of spare parts.”

“Really?” the girl’s eyes went wide with admiration.

“Oh, yeah. He started by making new toys out of broken pieces when we were kids. Never underestimate the broken pieces, Wanda. Broken doesn’t mean lost.”

Erik felt his chest tighten again at this remark. Charles had no idea what effect these words had on Erik.

Wanda’s face was glowing.

“Thank you!” she said and continued showing him dolls until her favourite show started on TV and she excused herself going to watch it.

All the time Charles was very patient and adorable to her which Erik appreciated a lot. Maybe that kid wasn’t a spoiled rich brat after all.

—«·»—

Wanda was watching her show and Pietro was still hiding somewhere so Erik took Charles to the kitchen where he finally got his coffee.

“Mmm, you’re a skilled instant coffee maker, Erik.” Charles smiled

“It’s a talent not many possess.” Erik found himself smile in return. Somehow Charles had brought sunlight in Erik’s home. If felt new and strange but Erik liked it. Too bad Charles couldn’t come babysit for Erik’s kids more often. He and Angel may hit it off too. Charles would be a catch for her, Erik thought, aware of how good looking the boy was. Yeah, Angel would’ve liked him…

Charles waited for Erik to speak first but since he didn’t Charles decided to take the initiative.

“So I take it you had a reason to call?” he said, after taking a few sips of his coffee.

“Umm, yes.” Erik nodded.

He felt ridiculous and stupid and embarrassed. He had called Charles with the distinct plan to ask him for money. He was going to use the boy’s guilt over the accident in order to get him to pay. It seemed like the logical thing to do when he was in such desperate need for money. But now, seeing Charles in his home, feeling the effects of his warm charming personality, Erik felt like an asshole to even have thought of that.

“I did… but it’s really nothing important.” He mumbled, trying to get out of the awkward situation he had put himself into.

Charles raised an eyebrow, not buying it. “Oh?” he said, expecting for Erik to elaborate some more.

“Yeah, the way I acted in the hospital… it wasn’t fair.” Erik continued “I shouldn’t have been so rude and… Well, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. What happened wasn’t your fault and I just took out my frustration on you.”

Charles heard him out and then smiled again. “You weren’t really _that_ rude. I thought it was endearing. Had I known you had kids waiting for you at home… I understand you completely. Hell, I probably would’ve acted the same way myself if I were you.”

“I doubt it.” Erik chuckled

“Yeah, me too” Charles chuckled as well and the two let the small laughter die down as they looked at one another.

Then came the awkward silence.

Erik fidgeted in his seat, trying to come up with something to say. Charles still seemed immensely amused at Erik’s struggles to socialize. He was looking at him with open gaze, sparkling blue eyes and smiling cherry lips.

“So where’s their mother?” Charles decided to attempt small talk to get Erik out of his misery.

It did not turn out to be a good choice of topic.

“Dead.” Erik said flatly, his blunt personality from a day ago rapidly coming back.

Charles’ smile froze. “Oh. I’m so sorry… I didn’t know…”

“Of course you didn’t know.”

“Yes.” Charles licked his lips, trying to think of a way to release the tension in the room

“My father died too.” he said. Way to go releasing the tension, Charles!

“That’s unfortunate.” Erik supplied

“Yes. I was about Wanda’s age when it happened.” Charles nodded, his face now serious, a crease forming on his forehead. “So I know how tough it can be for a kid.”

Erik wished he knew what to say to make things better for Charles, to return the smile from a moment ago back on the boy’s face.

“But eventually we learn to endure everything and move on.” He said, as if sensing Erik’s awkwardness and saving him from it. Erik let out his breath, realizing that Charles had just comforted himself for Erik.

Charles’ eyes fell on a chess piece on the floor. “Oh! You play chess?” the boy exclaimed

“I used to…” Erik said, looking at the chess piece “I haven’t played in a while. Kids throw the parts around the rooms… most of them are probably missing…”

“I always wanted to play with someone!” Charles blurted out, his face beaming

Erik couldn’t help smiling at the sight. “Well, maybe if I manage to find all the missing chess pieces, we could play.” He offered.

“Brilliant idea!” Charles agreed “I’ll help you find them!”

The enthusiasm was contagious. And so the two started crawling on the floor of Erik’s living room, trying to find chess pieces as if they were hidden treasures. Eventually Wanda felt inspired to help them with their quest too. Half an hour later they managed to piece together the weirdest looking chess board ever – most of the pieces were broken and the missing ones got replaced with small toys.

Erik frowned and laughed at the same time. “This is ridiculous!”

Charles was just as amused and so was Wanda even though she had no idea how exactly the game worked.

“Pietro uses them for his slingshot” she explained as she sat in Charles’ lap.

“It is a disaster.” Erik sighed but still felt that carefree feeling in his chest, a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“It’s still better than what I have at home.” Charles insisted.

“I highly doubt it!” Erik said, remembering the family boat picture on the cover of that magazine.

“I mean it.” Charles pressed “I have a very luxurious chess at home but there’s no one to play with. My father thought me when I was 5 or 6 and that’s basically the last time I played. After that I only… played by myself, so to speak.” 

Wanda looked at him with compassion. She too knew well what it was like to play alone all the time. Pierto didn’t count. Pietro just wanted to break her toys.

“Wow, Charles.” Erik said with mock compassion “You must suck at chess.” He teased and Charles laughed amused

“You’ll see, Lehsnherr!” he grinned and they started

Soon Wanda got sleepy and Erik took her to bed. Charles waited patiently for him to return.

“Are the kids asleep, daddy?” Charles asked playfully when Erik returned.

He stared at Charles for a moment and then nodded. “Yeah, both of them. Pietro finally came out of his hiding spot.”

“Hopefully, I meet him next time.” Charles said casually, looking back at the board again.

Erik meant to say something but decided against it. Charles had just announced that of course there will be a next time. That was strange but Erik was actually kind of pleased. Charles seemed to have a good influence on Wanda, helping her to overcome her extreme shyness. And Erik would be a liar to deny that Charles had a positive influence on him too. For half the day he was with them, Charles managed to get Erik to forget his worries, to stop stressing and actually relax a bit. No one, except for Erik’s wife, ever managed to have that effect on him.

“Tell you what” Charles pulled him out of his thoughts. “Let’s make this more fun.”

“How do you mean? Isn’t chess fun already?” Erik smirked

“It is, of course it is. But let’s bet on it. I bet $2 000 that I can beat you.”

Erik shook his head with a chuckle. “That’s ridiculous, Charles.” He said

“Why?” Charles’ blue eyes were challenging Erik

“This is chess, not poker.” Erik replied

Charles giggled “I know that, silly!” he smiled “But I still want to bet $2 000 on me being the winner. I think it will prove a point. That I’m a good player”

“Isn’t it illegal for you to gamble anyway?” Erik asked amused

“What? Of course not. I gamble a lot. My friend Tony and me, we make bets about everything! And I mean _everything!_ This one time we were at the—“

“I’m not sure I want to hear that.” Erik said grinning and shaking his head

“Then agree on the bet!” Charles pressed

“No.”

“Why? Chicken?”

“You don’t play fair, Xavier. I just don’t want to take advantage of an inexperienced player.” Erik replied

“Just because I played solo, doesn’t mean I’m inexperienced.” Charles shot back, smile playing on his cherry lips.

Erik swallowed. Were they still talking about chess? He shook his head. Of course they were still talking about chess! What else!? Get it together, Lehnsherr!

“So? Are you in or out?”

“Charles…” he groaned

“Pleeeeease!”

“Fine! But I know you’re gonna lose.” Erik said

“We’ll see about that!” Charles grinned excitedly, clapping his hands. “$2 000 says I win this game! Deal?”

“Deal.”

They shook hands.

Charles lost. But boy, was that a good game! 


	2. Chapter 2

Charles appeared on Erik's doorstep again next Sunday too, with a huge smile on his face and an even bigger box of chocolates in his hands that he gave to Erik instantly. His shining bright eyes were curiously seeking to see Wanda, hiding behind her father. Only this time the girl was actually running towards him with open arms. Charles lifted her up even before he got inside Erik's flat and spun her around the hall. 

"I'm flying!" the girl was laughing and so was Charles. 

"You're a superhero, princess!" Charles grinned as he slowed down and put her back on the floor. 

"More! More!" she lifted her arms up for him to take her again but he shook his head 

"Maybe later. Now I believe we shocked your daddy." he glanced at Erik with a chuckle. 

Erik was staring with a raised eyebrow. 

"Did we broke daddy?" Wanda laughed hugging Erik's leg 

"Maybe a kiss would fix him." Charles suggested 

These words dragged Erik back to reality. "What kiss?" 

"Wanda's kiss." Charles smiled

"Let me give you a magic kiss, daddy!" Wanda grinned and it was Erik who had to lift her up this time so that she could place a gentle loving kiss on both his cheeks and then his nose because - and I quote - "It's sticking out like that in hope to be kissed but we always kiss the lips or cheeks or even the chin instead. It's not fair, is it?"

"I agree, Wanda! Not fair at all!" Charles nodded in all seriousness and then smiled at Erik again "May I come in?" 

—«·»—

"I hope you don't mind me showing up uninvited again?" Charles said when they were both in the kitchen once more, Erik preparing the coffee Charles liked so much the previous time. 

"No, of course not." Erik replied "And it seems Wanda really enjoys your company."

Charles chuckled. "I enjoy hers too." he said "But only the lady of the household seems to enjoy my visits, not the gentlemen." 

Erik rolled his eyes. "Pietro's having an early teenage emo phase or something. He's mad at the world and..." he hesitated for a moment but then said it, despite the lump in his throat "... and me so don't take it personally."

Charles nodded. "Don't force him. He’ll come on his own when he’s ready." he replied, his eyes lifting up at Erik again, searching. "But what about you? Do  _you_ enjoy my visits?" 

"Your last visit got me $2 000 and kinda fixed most of my financial problems for the week so yeah, feel at home." 

Charles tsked "So it's all for the money!" he shook his head dramatically with a sigh. 

What did you expect?" Erik chuckled as well.

"I'll just have to deal with it then." Charles laughed carefree and leaned in on the kitchen table, sipping more of his coffee. "So, I'm here for a specific reason."

"Oh?" Erik leaned in as well. The two were now staring at one another's eyes closely. 

"Mhm" Charles nodded as he spoke slowly "I am here for revenge."

"Chess?" 

"Chess."

A smile was spreading across Erik's face as well. "Hurt pride?"

"I need to prove how good I am." Charles insisted 

"Fine. But don't cry when I win again." 

"Don't be so sure. I bet $3 000 this time." 

Erik pulled back with a frown. "Why do you need to bet anything? This is chess. I do believe you know how chess works."

"I do believe you know how gambling works, Erik Lehnsherr." Charles said, sitting back at his chair too. "When you want to make a bet, you can bet about anything. I can bet that this spoon over there will fall on the floor at some point during the next hour. And it's a legitimate bet as long as we shake on it. What difference does chess make?"

Erik was still unsure. "Do you have some kind of gambling problem I should be aware of?" 

"Come on! Don't be a grandpa!" 

"It's not right." Erik said "You're gonna lose your money again and I know it. It's not a fair fight."

"I don't know if you're aware but I come from a sickeningly rich family." Charles shrugged "Trust me, they deserve to have their money taken by someone like you." 

Was it Erik's imagination or was there a trace of bitterness in Charles' voice when he said that? His eyes also seemed not so bright when he spoke of his rich family. Erik didn't want to press. Besides, a rich heir was begging him to take his money on a game of chess. Erik was not a total idiot after all. 

"Alright but not $3 000." Erik said firmly

Charles beamed again. "Perfect! We'll make it $2 000 again! It could be our new tradition!"

"Tradition? You mean you're planning on this to be a regular thing!?" Erik mumbled surprised but Charles was already in the living room, playing and laughing with Wanda again. 

—«·»—

Charles spent the rest of the afternoon with Wanda and her toys and he even managed to drag Erik to play with them. Pietro was still hiding somewhere but Erik was pretty sure he heard him chuckling at a joke Charles made so he must've been close by this time. This was progress, Erik thought, considering how withdrawn and angry Pietro was after his mother's death. They spent a lovely afternoon, after which Charles waited for Erik in the kitchen.

Erik helped Wanda with her evening routine and tucked her and Pietro in for the night. When Erik got back in the kitchen he saw the chess board was already set for them.

"Also I made you tea." Charles announced. "So that you know how to make it properly." 

"You seem to have really high standards for tea." Erik chuckled fondly

"I have really high standards for lots of things." Charles replied 

Erik sat down opposite Charles, staring at the chess board. They began the game. It was quiet in the kitchen, only the chess pieces tapping on the board. It was unfamiliarity quiet with the kids asleep but there was this sense of home and coziness in the air that Erik didn't think he could have again. It was pleasant.  

"Umm, Erik?" Charles broke the silence. 

Erik lifted his gaze to look at Charles. Charles was staring at the chess board as he spoke kind of sheepishly. 

"Yes, Charles?" 

"I realize that I prolonged my stay today... like I did last week..." the boy said

Erik was about to protest but Charles cut him off before he could say a word. 

"Don't say I didn't because I know I did. I came unexpected and I stayed basically the whole day... and the evening." 

"It's fine. I enjoyed it."

"I  _really_ enjoy it too." Charles continued "I like your family, Erik, I like the way I feel when I'm here. I know it doesn't make sense--" 

"It makes sense" 

"-- but I was just wondering if I can come again? Maybe next Sunday? Like maybe it could be our thing?" 

The insecure and awkward way in which Charles said all that was so adorable Erik couldn't help smiling at him. 

"Sundays with Charles?" he joked "Sounds good." 

Charles beamed into a smile too. "Thank you!" he said eagerly and clapped his hands "Now, let's completely destroy you at chess! I have a bet to win after all!" 

Charles lost. But, boy, was that a good game! 

—«·»—

Spending their Sundays with Charles became a regular thing for the Lehnsherr household. Like a family tradition. The first family tradition they had since Magda died. So it Sundays with Charles and texting during the weekdays for Erik. For the first time in a long time Erik felt like he had a true friend again. 

At first the Sundays were just chess at home and playing with Wanda. Then eventually they started mixing different activities, and even tried going to the park together. It was Charles' idea and Wanda was so enthusiastic about it when he asked that she instantly climbed on Charles' shoulders and ordered Erik to get ready for their picnic. Erik was surprised to find his daughter so bossy all the sudden. She'd became braver and so much more confident in herself and Erik knew that this was mainly Charles' doing. He was grateful to the young man for that.   
  
Surprisingly Charles was right about Pietro too. He really did come on his own when he was ready. Slowly Pietro went from hiding, to hiding closer to them, then observing their family games from afar, then participating indirectly a few times by throwing a ball back to them or supplying an answer they were looking for, and then finally actually showing up and speaking! It was a slow progress but a progress nevertheless. 

Even Angel had noticed the difference. She was so pleased with the change in the kids’ behavior, claiming that they were feeling much better now and proclaiming Charles a genius. 

“Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!” she told him when he got home from work “They’re so much calmer. Today Pietro even defended Wanda in the park when an older kid came to harass her. He was there, full big brother mode! It was impressive.”

Erik smiled “It’s actually not my doing.” He said “I think it’s Charles. He just makes them happier. Makes us all happier….”

“Ooh, Charles! Right! I heard about Charles.” Angel grinned and winked 

"So they told you about him, didn't they?" Erik chuckled. 

"They seem pretty fond of him." 

"They are." 

"And you seem pretty fond of him too" she said and there was something so obviously suggestive in her voice that he had to defend himself.

“It’s not like that with Charles, Angel.” Erik shook his head “Charles is a family friend now. After his car hit me, he got really close to the family.”

They both laughed but Angel kept insisting that there’s something there that wasn’t there before and that the beast finally got himself a beauty. Erik spent most of their talk rolling his eyes. Charles was a friend! A very good friend. But that's all. Besides, Erik was way too old for Charles who looked 18! Not that Erik had ever contemplated the idea of them being something other than friends...

—«·»—

One evening during their usual game of chess after the kids were asleep and Erik needed to go to the bathroom and when he returned he saw Pietro in the kitchen with Charles. He stood there at the door unobserved, careful not to frighten the boy as if his son were a forest animal and Charles was the treat to capture it.

Pietro's brow was furrowed in concentration while Charles explained something and Erik couldn't help grinning when he heard the conversation. 

"... and that's basically the Theory of relativity." Charles concluded 

"So the speed of light is always the same?" Pietro said and Charles nodded 

"Yes, it's constant." he replied "And constant means..." he waited for Pietro to supply the answer 

"... that it never changes." the little boy smiled 

"Exactly!" Charles grinned 

"So if I run really fast I could be as fast as light and my speed then would be **constant**?" the new word was difficult for the 7 year old but with a little effort he managed to pronounce it right. 

"It would be only if you're always moving with the speed of light." 

"I wish, but that can never happen." he sighed

"Well, if you run in a different dimension it could." Charles said "My friend Tony says that things that seem impossible on our planet could happen in other dimensions, or other planets, where the natural laws of physics are different. So what seems impossible here, could be possible somewhere else." 

"So if I go to another dimension and run in my regular speed there, it'd seem like I'm running really really fast here?" Pietro's face lit up

Charles grinned and nodded again "Exactly. You have a knack for understanding my friend's wacky theories, Pie." 

"I heard you talk about your friend Tony a lot when you were playing with Wanda earlier." Pietro observed

"Yeah, well, technically he's my only friend so I don't really have many options." Charles joked

"You like Tony?" Pietro asked, tilting his head curiously 

Charles nodded "Yeah, I do, he's my friend."

"Is Tony your special friend?"

"Well, he is pretty special..." Charles chuckled

"No, I mean are you in love with Tony?"

Charles was taken by surprise by this question but smiled nevertheless.

"No." he explained "I love Tony but I'm not in love with him."

"Oh, I understand." the boy nodded a few times.

"Good!" Charles smiled friendly

"Do you fall in love with girls or boys?" Pietro continued. Apparently this was an interesting topic for the kid.

Charles sighed. "Well..."

Pietro interrupted. "My daddy falls in love with both girls _and_ boys."

"Oh, does he?"

"Yeah. But he still loved mummy best." Pietro said, trying to keep his voice neutral "But then she died and now he doesn't love anybody."

Erik tried to swallow the lump in his throat and decided it was time he interrupted the conversation.

"Pietro, what are you doing up?" he asked, entering the kitchen

"I got curious about something and I couldn't sleep." the boy replied

"And you decided to torture Charles, I see." Erik added, raising an eyebrow. 

"I'm not torturing him, I'm talking to him." Pietro protested and nudged Charles. "Tell him Charles!"  

"I'm not being tortured." Charles assured with a soft smile.

"Time for bed, Pietro." Erik said 

"Just one moment!" Pietro said and looked back at Charles "You didn't tell me if you love girls or boys?" 

Charles laughed. "Well, I'm not dating anyone now but... I fall for boys." he said, looking closely at Erik. 

Erik felt a wave of heat rushing to his face and cleared his throat. "Bed. Now." he said, extending his hand to Pietro.

Pietro took his father's hand. "Goodnight, Charles." the kid said as he left the room 

"Night, Pie!" Charles waved him goodbye with a smile 

—«·»—

"Sorry, he's really curious... I guess." Erik said when he returned from the children's bedroom. 

"It's okay. I'm glad he talks to me now." Charles replied, bright blue eyes following Erik

 

 

 

" _I'm_ glad he talks to  _me_ now." Erik laughed awkwardly "He refused to before. Unless it was to tell me something mean." 

Charles shook his head "He didn't sound like someone who wants to be mean to you." he said "He sounded like a little boy concerned for his dad."

Erik frowned. "What do you mean?" 

"Erik, he told me he wanted to be able to run as fast as light to get back in time and bring his mum back for you not to be lonely and grumpy anymore." 

Erik felt sharp pain through his chest. 

"Charles, that's just..." 

"I understand losing a loved one is tough." Charles continued "Hell, it's a nightmare! It's horrible and unfair! And I understand how you feel." 

"I feel fine, Charles." Erik insisted "Pietro wants his mum back because he misses her." 

"He misses his family." Charles said, sounding sad now "I know the feeling." 

"I'm trying to give him as much of a family as I can." 

"I know you are. But you're not really giving this to him unless you're happy too." Charles said, getting up from his chair and approaching Erik. "You deserve happiness too, Erik. He can feel your despair, your anger, your sorrow... They're reflected in your son. You need to let go of those if you want Pietro to let go of his pain and anger too." 

"Since when did you become such an expert?" Erik said coldly 

Charles froze. "Sometimes it's easier to observe from afar and notice things that cannot be seen from up close." he said helplessly

"Well, thank you for your concern but I don't see it as any of your business." 

Charles was about to say something but he pursed his lips instead. "Yeah. You're right. It isn't." he said, nodding. "I just wanted to help..."  

"Two months with us and you think you're an expert on my family? Or maybe a part of it?"

A pair of blue eyes saddened under Erik's gaze. Erik could see the hurtful disappointment in Charles' eyes and felt like a d!ck. But it was too late to take anything back now. And it was true - Charles was not a part of this family and it wasn't his job to be  _concerned!_  

"I'd better go now." Charles said, blinking more rapidly than it was normal and avoiding looking at Erik. 

Erik clenched his fist so his knuckles went wight but showed no emotion on his face. 

Charles stood there, looking down at his hands. "I'm sorry. I got carried away with... I just felt so... Yeah, well, goodnight, Erik." he said and quickly walked past Erik, leaving him alone in the kitchen that seemed so cozy just a moment ago. 

—«·»— 

Erik felt terrible during the night, he felt terrible the next morning, he felt terrible all day at work. In short, Erik felt terrible. 

Did he just ruin his friendship with Charles last night? And why? Because he couldn't take advice? Because he couldn't stand someone showing affection and care? He wasn't even sure what happened exactly. All he knew was that Charles was trying to help like the good friend he was and Erik repaid him by being an asshole. Way to go, Erik! And the stupidest part of all was that he not only ruined their friendship for Charles and himself, he also ruined it for his kids too. Wanda and Pietro both were so attached to Charles already; taking him away from them was cruel. Just as cruel, in fact, as taking Charles away from himself. 

So he decided he had to make things right. 

**I'm sorry about last night. Can we please talk? EL**

He waited impatiently for a reply. It took a while before his phone buzzed. 

_We can talk. I'm at home for the entire evening. CX_

Erik knew the building where Charles' apartment was, although he's never been inside it before. Charles had showed it to Wanda and Pietro a few weeks ago and promised them to make a party for them to meet Tony. Both kids already loved said Tony just by hearing the weird stories Charles told about him. They even had prepared a list of questions to ask Tony when they actually see him. 

Erik took a deep breath and approached the door of what was supposed to be Charles' apartment. There were voices coming from the inside and for a moment Erik thought this was probably a bad time and he should come back later. Charles was after all a young man with a life of his own, who probably had better things to do than spend his evenings with a 32-years old single father like Erik. However, the voices were getting louder and angrier and Erik became concerned and more eager to interrupt.

He rang the doorbell. The voices quieted down. For a few minutes there was no noise coming from the flat at all. Until finally Charles opened the door and looked at Erik with relief in his big blue eyes. 

"Erik! You decided to come!" he said warmly with a small smile

Erik frowned. Charles looked tired and pale. His otherwise impeccable hair was now messily falling on his face and sticking in different directions. His clothes were rumpled and there was a small cut on the hand that was holding the doorknob. 

"Yes." Erik replied "Yes, I needed to talk to you." 

"Not a good time, mate." a rough voice came from the inside and a large man showed up from behind Charles. 

Erik saw how Charles tensed as the tall guy came closer. 

"I'm not your mate." Erik said, already feeling hostility towards the man. "And I believe Charles has a say in who stays in his flat." 

Was this Charles' boyfriend? Or Charles' ex? Was this guy bothering Charles? Did Charles want Erik to kick his ass? Cause Erik could totally do that! Gladly! 

"Erik, this is Cain." Charles spoke and got a hard nudge in the ribs by said Cain. "My..." the words were a lump in the young man's throat "My stepbrother." he finally added. 

"Oh." Erik heard himself utter 

Come to think of it Erik did see that face, a bit younger but just as vile and cruel, on that picture of Charles' family on their boat. He made a point by glaring at Cain with his most villainous look. 

It did the trick apparently because Cain did not insist on staying. 

"I think we're done here anyway." Cain said "I think you got the point, Charlie, didn't you?" he looked down on Charles and gave him a strong tap on the shoulder that made Charles flinch. 

"I-- I did, yeah. Thank you, Cain." Charles mumbled through his teeth, glaring at his step-brother. "But I'm pretty sure I made my opinion clear on this matter. Be so kind to let my step-father know that." 

There was tension again. Cain obviously wanted to press matters further but Charles was glaring at him and keeping the door open for him to leave. Cain glared back but said nothing more. 

"What was that all about?" Erik blurted out once they were alone. 

Charles let out his breath with a sigh and slid down the wall, sitting on the floor and hugging himself. 

"Are you alright?" Erik asked worriedly. 

He instantly knelt down by Charles' side and placed his hand on Charles' shoulder to comfort him. 

"Yes... yes, I'm alright." Charles nodded a few times but Erik could see his hands were shaking. "We had a disagreement, that's all. A stupid, stupid disagreement." 

Erik felt like it was not his place to pry. He was very well aware of how annoying nosy people were so he knew better than becoming one of their kind now. He gave Charles his space to regain control over himself and calm himself down. 

In a few minutes Charles was back to his usual sunny self. 

"So you really came to apologize? Wow! I did not see that coming." Charles chuckled with a head shake. 

"Why? Do I seem so stubborn?" Erik asked 

"Extremely stubborn." Charles added, serving Erik some tea and cake. 

"So can you forgive me? For the stupid way I acted?" Erik asked, a strange fear curling in his stomach, making him feel vulnerable. 

Charles pretended he was considering his answer. "Hmmm, such a difficult question..." he said 

"You're such an idiot." Erik shook his head with an eye roll and an exasperated sigh but he was actually rejoicing at Charles' behaviour right now. Teasing meant they were comfortable around one another. Feeling comfortable meant they could be friends again. 

Charles looked at  Erik with a bright smile. "Yes." he said "I definitely definitely forgive you." 

Erik couldn't help the huge grin on his face. "Really? Thank you!" he said and he meant it. 

"I mean... I wasn't right to interfere in your life either." Charles said, getting more serious now. "I just got so comfortable around you and your family, at one point I forgot that you weren't my own family... even though I wished you were... Even though in my head I pretended you were..." 

Erik listened in silence. So many things became clearer in his head now. Charles' life wasn't what Erik thought it was. With that step-brother sent here by Charles' step-father to ' _disagree_ ' with Charles and leaving him emotionally exhausted, with a mother that Charles hardly ever mentioned, with the fake smiles on that picture on that boat... Charles was alone in his own home. In fact, Charles didn't feel like he had a home, much like Erik did when he lost Magda. So the real reason why Charles visited them so often was not because he was doing Erik a favour, nor was it a weird charity case of losing at chess to keep the Lehnsherrs from bankrupt. It wasn't even because he wanted to help with the kids. It was because Charles was desperately in need of a family and Erik and his children were giving him what he was missing so dearly.

Until Erik snapped at him and ruined it all, of course. 

"You did more for my family for the two months you spent with us than I did for the last two years after Magda died." he confessed. "You are more a part of my family than you think, Charles." 

Charles' blue eyes were watering now. A shaky smile appearing on his face. 

"You really mean that." Charles said 

Erik nodded. "Yes, I really do." he said. 

Charles put his hand on top of Erik's and squeezed lightly for a few minutes before he let go and cleared his throat. "Thank you. This means to me more than I can explain." he said. 

Erik thought he actually understood more now than _he_ could explain. 


	3. Chapter 3

"I have a surprise for everyone." Charles announced. He was back in theirs lives once again and the kids didn't even know they were in danger of losing their Sunday tradition with Charles. Erik was happy to see that the misunderstanding was cleared and forgotten and their friendship was back to the way it was before, maybe even stronger now. 

They spent most of this Sunday talking about all kinds of things - from movies to politics - while the kids played around them together without fighting and without Pietro threatening to kill Wanda's doll. 

"It's Magneto and Professor X!" Pietro shout-whispered to Wanda while the two were hiding behind the couch Charles and Erik was sitting on. 

"Can you hear what they're saying?" the little girl replied in the same manner 

"If you shut up, I might!" he snapped 

"Hey! Don't be mean to your sister." Erik scolded 

"No, he's not being mean. We're just playing this new game and that's his character." Wanda explained quickly popping out from behind the couch 

"What is this new game?" Erik then asked 

"And who are Magneto and Professor X?" Charles added 

"It's you." Pietro announced proudly 

Erik and Charles laughed. "What?" 

Wanda and Pietro exchanged a look as if agreeing on whether to tell them or not. Finally they nodded to one another and Wanda continued with the explanation. 

"You" she pointed at Charles, "are Professor X - one of the most powerful telepaths in the world!" 

"Oh, that's flattering" Charles smiled "I like my character." 

"We based him on you because you always seem to know what we want." Wanda said

"And we're still not 100% sure if you're not using real telepathy for it." Pietro added, frowning

"And, daddy, you're Magneto." Wanda grinned "And you can control metal." 

"Is this because I have a hardware shop?" Erik chuckled 

"Yeah. And because you're so good with metal and always repair whatever breaks around here." 

"That's lovely" Charles said fondly, smiling softly at Erik. "And maybe also because you're so magnetic." he added with a playful chuckle

Erik was trying to come up with something to say when Pietro interrupted. 

"Magneto and Professor X are old friends who become enemies." 

"What?" Charles exclaimed, pretending to be shocked. "Why would you come up with that? That's sad!" 

"Don't worry!" Wanda whispered conspiratorially "In the end it turns out they were in love all along." 

"Oh, is that so?" 

"Yes. So they live happily ever after!" 

"Why would they be in love? Why not just be friends?" Erik asked, confused. 

"Because you two look really sweet together." Wanda gave him an adorable smile "And they're based on you." 

Charles let out a warm joyful laughter while Erik felt his chest clench. He wanted to mumble a response but his body decided to blush instead. 

"Well, Wanda, that's all very nice but does Pietro agree with this backstory?" Charles asked 

"Oh, yes, he does! He came up with it!" she said and lowered her voice again "He told me you like boys so you can like my daddy." 

Erik felt he had to say something,  _anything._  This was awkward! So very awkward. But when he looked at Charles, Charles seemed perfectly calm to him. Erik frowned confused. Why wasn't Charles feeling awkward!? 

"I do like your daddy a lot, Wanda." Charles smiled warmly at her 

Erik felt his heart beating faster than usual, throbbing in his ears.  _Charles doesn't mean it like that. Charles is just being nice to his daughter. When he says he likes Erik, he means it as a friend._ And that was perfectly fine. Why was Erik's heart not listening to him and still beating so fast!?

Erik noticed how quickly Charles changed the subject after that. And so we come to where we started: 

"I have a surprise for everyone." Charles announced. 

"What's the surprise?" Pietro asked curiously

"Yes, what's the surprise?" Wanda repeated just to let everyone know that she was exactly as curious as her brother

"I'm thinking I take all of you, Lehnsherrs, to a party." Charles proclaimed

Erik frowned but the kids started jumping around excitedly. 

"Will there be lots of balloons? I like balloons. Are there any red ones?" Wanda was the most vocal one 

Charles chuckled. "There are balloons. And I believe most of them are red." he told her, enjoying the happiness in her eyes "And it's a safe party, Erik. I'm not as reckless as you think." he said, looking at Erik now "I was going to take you to meet my friend Tony." 

Another wave of excitement and Erik knew that it would be useless to even try to ask the kids to keep it down a bit. It was endearing to see his kids so happy again. Erik caught himself looking at Charles in hope he could read his mind and join in the pleasant feeling that Erik was feeling right now. But Charles did not notice Erik's gaze. He was laughing with the kids, his eyes shining, his smile beaming, his entire being glowing like he was made out of cotton, laughter, happiness and rainbows... Erik slowly frowned. What kind of thoughts were those!? And why, the hell, rainbows!? 

His thoughts were interrupted when Charles suddenly approached, turning towards Erik for a private conversation. 

"Don't worry, Erik. When I say a party, I don't mean alcohol, loud music and free love. I know they're 7, okay?" he chuckled mischievously "It's gonna be just you, me, the kids and Tony."

"In that case, I'm calling Angel." he said

"Oh, I'd like to finally meet Angel. The kids talk a lot about her." Charles smiled "Yes, of course, you have to call her."

"Are we going to the party, daddy?" Pietro asked, hope in his eyes.  

Erik cleared his throat. "Fine. But don't break anything." 

"Yayayay!" more squeaking and jumping and an hour later they were finally ready to go to Tony Stark's home. 

—«·»—

Tony Stark was the most peculiar person the Lehnsherr kids have ever met. He was in his early 20's, he was wacky - oh, so wacky - and they liked that. He was like Willy Wonka of strange technology. His home was huge and equipped with all kinds of amazing technology that he had created on his own. 

"Did you really start out with making toys out of spare parts?" Wanda asked excitedly, still remembering one of her first conversations with Charles. That was just one of many questions she and Pietro had for Tony. After all the stories they heard about him from Charles, they felt like they already knew him. And strangely enough, he felt the same way because as he put it "Charles is always talking about you, kids!" 

That made the kids really happy. 

"Charles always talks about you too" Tony said when he shook Erik's hand. 

Charles cut in, quickly changing the subject. "Umm, right, let's see if there's any cake left or you ate it all while waiting for us, Tony!" 

Erik smiled and the party began. There were indeed balloons, cake and sweets, lots of toys, juice and water and a something stronger for the grown ups, sandwiches and most of all  _things_! Lots of things that looked interesting and shiny and curious 7-year olds really wanted to explore those things! 

The kids  _touched everything_  their tiny hands could reach and Erik just helplessly kept repeating "Don't brake anything! Don't break anything!" 

Tony seemed really amused by this. "If they break it, I can fix it so don't worry, relax!" he said 

Angel found Tony's attitude even more impressive than his home and it showed. Tony seemed to like her too and the kids soon started making jokes about the two of them.

"What's with the matchmaking lately?" Angel laughed amused

"Erik, Erik." Charles whispered and took Erik's hand in his, pulling him to get up from the sofa "Come with me. I wanna show you something."

Erik put down his glass on the coffee table and followed Charles.  

"Charles, where are we g--?" 

"It's alright, don't worry. I know this place like the back of my hand. I spend here every free time I get." Charles said, still holding Erik by the hand. 

Erik swallowed but did not protest. 

Charles took him to a separate secluded smaller room that looked a lot like a lab. 

"This is where I conduct my experiments." Charles grinned "Ta-daaa" he chuckled 

Erik looked around in awe. "That's really good. Did you decorate as well?" he teased 

"Shut up" Charles laughed brightly "Do you want to check some of the things?" 

"If it's too sciency, I doubt I'd understand much of it." Erik admitted 

"I'm really good at explaining things so no worries." Charles tapped him on the shoulder and went towards a table with lots of tubes and glass bottles full of liquids of different colours. 

"I'm never really worried around you..." Erik muttered but quickly shook that thought off and followed Charles again. "So this is it? The big experiment? Your project?" 

Charles nodded, looking at his notes fondly. It was so endearing the way Charles was beaming and glowing when it came to his hobby. Because that's what it must be, right? A hobby. A fancy hobby a rich boy can indulge in. Pretending to be a scientist. 

"This" Charles said, trying to contain his excitement as he pointed towards one of the tubes "speeds up cell regeneration. It could help heal many people and without painful expensive surgery! They only need to drink certain dozes of this and voila! Damaged cells would regenerate six times faster than usual! Dead cells would be revived! No more pain! No more loss..." 

Erik looked at the tube with blueish bubbling liquid in it. Was this little thing really going to bring so much positive change in the world? Was Charles for real? Maybe this wasn't just a spoiled rich boy's hobby.

"This actually works?" he asked, looking at Charles 

Charles burst into laughter and Erik felt like an idiot. 

"You really thought I was just fooling around, didn't you?" Charles found this extremely amusing apparently 

"Well..." Erik mumbled 

"This really means a lot to me, Erik." Charles said, more serious now "This project, if it takes off, could turn out to be a new breakthrough for medicine as we know it."

"Yes, I understand that! Healing practically anything, right?" Erik added, his enthusiasm almost matching Charles' "Because so many things start on a cellular level" 

Charles nodded. "I'm also working on something with genes but it's too early to actually brag with that one." Charles blushed and, by Jove, Erik was mesmerized by him! It wasn't just the way his eyes were sparkling, the faint blush on his cheeks, the naturally red lips that he kept licking whenever he was excited about something... it was Charles himself! His personality, the way he looked at life, his dreams, his efforts, his attitude... It was  _Charles_ and Erik was utterly lost. 

He cleared his throat and averted his gaze from his young friend. His feelings were so improper! 

"I hope this works for you." Erik said, confused by his own emotions. "You come from such a family, I'm sure it would open the necessary doors for you." 

Charles' face darkened. 

"More like lock them right under my nose..." Charles mumbled 

Erik frowned "What do you mean? I thought your family was sickeningly rich. That's the only reason I allowed you to keep betting on our chess games. I assumed it was an eccentric charity work." 

The joke did the trick to make Charles chuckle only for a small moment. Then the boy's face fell again. 

"Money have little to do with it in that case, I'm afraid." he said 

"Money could never get in the way" Erik supplied 

"But when your stepfather is determined to stop you and your ideas no matter what, all my inheritance won't be able to help me if he uses his influence to stop me." Charles sighed 

"I see..." Erik nodded thoughtfully "Why won't he help you? Or at least, not get in your way?" 

Charles shrugged. "Because I won't let him do to my father's company what he wanted to do for as long as he married my mother. I won't let him ruin so many people's lives and destroy my father's legacy." 

The words sounded so matter-of-factly, so casual and relaxed that it was more than obvious that they were practiced. Charles was doing his best to conceal how deeply hurt and upset he was about this. But by now Erik knew Charles well enough to see through him and his little charade. 

Erik felt sad for the boy. But he also had no idea what he could do to help. So he thought that the least he could do was be a good listener. 

"Wanna talk about it?" he offered 

Instantly the old carefree Charles was back as if to close a door in Charles' mind and lock it so that Erik would never get to see a glimpse of it ever again. "My life's boring." Charles waved his hand with a chuckle 

"You got to discuss my life" Erik said "it's only fair to let me do the same." 

Charles rolled his eyes with an amused smile. "You're really concerned or you just really want to know the gossip?" he asked, teasing.

"I'm all for gossip, you know that." Erik returned the playfulness, making Charles' face brighten up instantly. "But I also really really care." he said, his voice low. 

Charles' eyes looked at Erik for a second, searching, and then he nodded as if surrendering. "Fine. Ask away. I'm yours." 

"What does your stepbrother want with you?" Erik asked, without skipping a beat "Is he bullying you because it really looked like it when I was at your place the other day. So what's his problem?"

"Oh, trust me, he has maaaany problems!" Charles said, faking amusement, although he wasn't really fooling anybody. "Most of them in his stupid head." 

"I bet!" Erik agreed, waiting for Charles to feel safe enough to talk about this. 

Erik instinctively felt (also it was kind of obvious after what he saw in Charles' apartment the other day) that the topic was sensitive for Charles. So he wanted to give him all the security he needed before opening up. 

"I don't usually talk about this." Charles laughed quietly, nervously. 

Erik nodded, not saying a word. 

"I mean... Not even with Tony... Tony knows parts of it but it's not like I go around talking about my feelings..." his voice cracked a bit so he just stopped. 

"Talking about feelings can be tricky." Erik agreed "I should know." 

Charles took a deep breath. "Yeah. It is." he agreed and seemed to feel better now. "When my father died I was only 7 years old. I was upset but I don't think I missed him when I was growing up; I just missed whatever idea of a father my brain supplied during the next years but I don't really remember the real him." 

There was a hint of guilt in his voice so Erik hurried to say "Understandable. You were really young." 

"Yeah." Charles nodded. The two of them were sitting on a couch that Charles obviously used to sleep on whenever he was staying in the lab. "The only memory I still have of him is him teaching me how to play chess." 

So that's why chess was so important! 

"He was a kind man, Erik." Charles continued, a soft melancholic smile gracing his pale face. "Eventually I got to know him mostly by reading papers he wrote, his ideas. Indirectly he got me into science and mostly genetics but... all kinds of stuff." 

Erik smiled softly too. 

"I-- I guess I did miss him after all..." Charles let out a small nervous chuckle. His face darkened. "And then my mother married Kurt Marko."

The rest was clear already. Charles didn't want to burden Erik with all the details, he only supplied the main information. Kurt Marko was in it for the money. He was a manipulative, power-crazed brute that hurt Charles repeatedly. And his son was no different, following in his father's footsteps by being equally terrorizing. 

"I can never truly get away from them." Charles said "And what bugs Kurt most now is that I have a share of my father's company and no matter what he tries I won't give that over to him." Charles' face twisted in a smug smile that Erik hadn't seen on him before. "You see, I'm officially my father's heir so I'm on the board of directors. They can't really carry out a decision without my consent." 

"But you can't carry a decision without his consent either." Erik realized where the catch was. Even if Charles did start working on his formula, it would all be for naught unless the decision is carried and Kurt would always block it. 

"Kurt wants to take control over the company so he wants me to give up my share. But I can't do that. Kurt wants to use my father's company for his own profit, which I guess is normal, but his deals actually harm people, harm the environment, they freaking harm employees who have terrible working conditions! Most of those deals are illegal and actually dangerous, Erik. I can't allow that, can I?" Erik shook his head "So I'm not allowing it. I'm fighting him, I'm fighting them both. And they--" Charles rubbed his wrist "Kurt and Cain fight me back. In their own way." 

"And that way is..." Erik sighed. "Does Cain hurt you often?" 

Charles chuckled. "He gets passionate when I refuse to sign the papers. But I can handle Cain. I'm no longer the scared boy that used to hide in the wardrobe. I'm out of the closet" he added with a wink and Erik had to chuckle at the joke. "But now there's a new thing." Charles said. "Now Kurt made a new offer. He'd let me start this new project with the cells that I just showed you, if I give him my share of the company. If not, he'll always block it and the decision can't be carried out." 

Charles sighed, resting his head on his hands. 

"So you see my dilemma... Scientific progress that could transform life as we know it but on what price? Kurt winning, getting what he wants, bullying more people, making dangerous deals, treason, things I cannot even..." another sigh. "I'm failing my father, Erik. And I don't know what to do." 

Erik put his hand on Charles' shoulder to comfort him. And for a moment that was all they both needed. 

—«·»—

Erik was confused. There was no doubt in that. He's noticed the signs, he knew himself. He was falling for Charles, or even worse, maybe he's already fallen and didn't even know it yet. It was a strong constant feeling that he's only felt once in his life and for his wife Magda. It was easy to recognize what the feeling was but he could simply  _not be in love with Charles!_ This was wrong on so many levels, Erik thought. So he decided the only thing he can and should do is start thinking of Charles as his friend again and ignore everything that was happening inside his heart. How hard could that be? 

One evening they were cleaning up some of the toys that the kids left before going to bed as they were still laughing about the things they did during the day.

“Thanks for today, Charles.” Erik said honestly. “And for all these Sundays.”

“My pleasure.”

“Getting beaten at chess is your pleasure?” Erik raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a small price to pay to feel the way I feel when I’m around your family.” Charles replied, smiling softly at Erik.

“Please. My family is broken.” Erik sighed, leaning against the wall to rest a bit

Charles’ hand found its way on Erik’s shoulder for comfort. “Erik, it’s not broken.” He said softly “Your family is not broken. If it were, I would’ve known.”

Erik looked at him and gave a small chuckle. “Thanks, Charles.” He said quietly

There was a small silence. The two stayed like that close to one another. Erik felt Charles’ warm hand sliding off his shoulder down to his bicep. Why would Charles do that? This was ridiculous! Charles was a boy! Charles was a family friend! It wasn’t like that with Charles! He's made a firm decision that it wasn't like that with Charles! 

Charles’ bright blue eyes glanced at Erik’s mouth for a moment then up again and Erik realized he was holding his breath. He felt warm lips gently brushing against his and his heart skipped a beat. Erik wanted to pull away, to push Charles away, but he couldn’t find it in him to do so. Charles felt so good, tasted so good, and it’s been so long since Erik felt close to anyone like this. It was hard to push away the thing you wanted most. 

Charles deepened the kiss and Erik let out a strangled moan as he pressed his lips to Charles’ in return. He felt arms wrapping around his shoulders, hands sliding up to his head, fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him closer. It wasn’t supposed to feel so perfect!

“No, Charles, wait.” He managed, trying to pull away

“Why?” Charles breathed, kissing down his neck. “I’ve seen the way you look at me, Erik. You’re not that unreadable.”

“Charles, please, stop.” He begged

Charles moved away a bit, looking at Erik confused, waiting for an explanation.

“I'm 32 years old." he blurted out

"Good for you." Charles said absent-mindedly, claiming Erik's lips again

"No, no, you don't understand." Erik continued with his weak defense "I'm 32 and you're, what, 18? That's 14 years age gap... I'm too old for you." 

Charles blinked a few moments and then burst into laughter. It was Erik’s turn to be confused.

"14 years you say?" Charles asked amused 

"Yes." 

"You've calculated that?" he asked, now hardly able to content his laughter 

"Yes!" Erik repeated. Why was Charles not bothered by this? Erik wasn't a cradle robber!

“And you think I'm 18? Really, Erik?” Charles was laughing now and Erik paled even more.

“Don’t tell me you’re younger than that!” he blurted out which caused even more amusement from Charles

“Erik, I’m 28 years old.” Charles said after the laughter subsided a bit

“What?”

“Thank you for the compliment though!” he kept grinning, cheeks flushed “I’ve heard I had a baby face but this is ridiculous. You took it to a whole new level!”

“You’re 28!?” Erik repeated idiotically

Charles nodded. “I’m pretty sure about it. So make your 14 years age gap a 4 years age gap. Are 4 years alright for you?”

“Oh.”

“Oh indeed.” Charles bit his lower lip to stop himself from having another laughing fit.

"Are you seriously 28?" Erik asked once again. Charles' youthfulness was remarkable, almost unbelievable. 

"I could show you my driver's licence if that would help." Charles gave him a mischievous grin and a wink

“Now I just feel stupid.” Erik finally laughed too

“I thought you felt turned on.” Charles corrected with mock seriousness

"I'm not that unreadable, huh?" Erik chuckled, pulling him closer to himself and wrapping his arms around Charles' waist.

Charles beamed at him and rested his arms around Erik's shoulders. 

"I wish I knew that earlier. Would've spared me a lot of sleepless nights." Erik shook his head amused. 

"I thought my flirting was pretty obvious." 

"I thought you were being friendly." 

"Erik, you're the sweetest, most naive shark-grinned person I've ever met." 

Erik gifted him with one of his now famous shark grins and leaned in for another kiss.

—«·»—

"I've got an idea but it's really risky so don't be mad at me and feel free to ignore it." Erik said. 

Him and Charles met after work because Erik had something important to discuss with Charles. 

"Okay." Charles said, feeling his heart flutter inside his chest. "I think I know what this is about so please continue." 

Of course it was obvious what this was about. They needed to have 'the talk'. Where they stand, when they can tell the kids, when can Charles move in with them or Erik move in with Charles, marriage, colleges for the kids in 10 years or so, that sort of thing. Charles had it all planned and he was pretty excited to get serious with Erik. But he wanted Erik to ask whenever he was ready. 

"Right. Here goes." Erik nodded, taking Charles' hand in his own. "Don't be mad at me for this..." 

"I won't be mad, Erik." Charles smiled sweetly. Erik was so adorable. "Just tell me." 

Erik hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath. This was so cute! Then he finally spoke again. 

"What if you leave your father's company?" 

Silence. 

What the--?

Why did he not ask about what colour to paint the bedroom? 

"Sorry?" Charles said

"All your life this was getting in your way. You said you can't get away from Kurt and Cain but maybe this is a way out." 

Erik couldn't be serious! Could he?

"You want me to give Kurt and Cain my father's life's work so that they can ruin it all? And you think I can build my happiness on that?" Charles really didn't see how was this good logic.

"I know it sounds drastic but hear me out. That's not all." Erik said "You are a very bright man, Charles. You're intelligent, clever, passionate. You can do so much! You don't need Kurt or Cain to slow you down." 

"I know. But still, Erik, I don't see why are we talking about this." Charles pulled his hands from Erik's. 

Erik tried once again to explain his idea. 

"You said Kurt always blocks your proposals." he said 

"Yes. He does." Charles replied, getting a bit impatient now. He was in a somewhat more romantic mood than that before he got here. 

"Exactly.  _Kurt_ blocks them, not the other people on the board." 

Charles concentrated. Erik gave him a moment. "Proceed." Charles said

"If you let Kurt have what he wants but take the other investors and clients with you and start your own company, all Kurt will be left with is..." 

"... empty offices and empty labs!" Charles exclaimed 

"This won't be your father's company anymore, Charles. Your father's company would be where  _you_ and your and his  _ideas_ are." 

"That's true! Erik, that's true!" Charles said, getting enthusiastic about it

"I realize that it'll be difficult at the start, you could experience some losses maybe..." 

"That is always a risk but it's a risk worth taking!" Charles cut him off "Erik, this is exactly what I'd want! I just didn't see it until now!" 

Erik smiled. "I was just trying to show you a different perspective." 

"Thank you, Erik!" Charles held Erik's hand again with a big smile on his face "I will start the negotiations first thing tomorrow. I already know who'd like to join me and who'd stay with Kurt and Cain. I don't need that sort of people around me anyway." 

Erik was smiling fondly at Charles while he was already making plans how to carry out this idea. 

"You know, when you called me here tonight I thought you wanted to discuss  _us_." Charles chuckled 

"Us?" Erik laughed "What's to discuss about us? I love you, you love me, the kids love you, you love the kids, we're all getting along so well already. I believe  _us_ is pretty solid and nonnegotiable." 

Charles giggled. Yes, Erik was right. They really were solid and nonnegotiable and so perfect for one another!


	4. Epilogue

**Angel, is Charles still alive? T**

_Yeah. Why shouldn't he be, smoocles? A_

**Smoocles? T**

_Your new nickname. A_

**Why can't you come up with something more... manly? You make me sound like a poodle. T**

_Who's my good boy! A_

**I'm not talking to you. -_- T**

_We both know you can't do that. You live for me. A_

**That's true, damn it. :/ T**

_So Charles. A_

**What about him? T**

_You were asking me about Charles. Why? A_

**Oh, yeah, right. I was asking because I haven't seen him in like forever. T**

_He's hanging out with Erik and the kids and_ **_Erik_ ** _and_ **_Erik_ ** _and_ **_Erik_ ** _lol. A_

**Tell me about it! They're so obvious, I can't believe they still think no one knows about them. T**

_I know right? Every time I hint about it in front of Erik he gives me the when the kids are ready, speech. Please! Like the kids have no eyes! A_

**Yeah! The kids basically saw it coming before either Charles or Erik did! T**

_Good one, smookie! A_

**Oh, come on! Smookie? You can do better than that! T**

_What about my nickname then? A_

**Angel kinda is a nickname and it suits you perfectly because you're my angel! T**

_Charmer! A_

**I know, I'm great. ;) Do you think they're gonna finally be out with it soon? T**

_Not if we leave it to them. A_

**Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting? T**

_I think I am, my gorgeous iron man! A_

**Ooh! Iron man! I like that! Yeah, you can keep calling me that. T**

_You're such an idiot! :L A_

**Your idiot ;) T**

_True. So... operation Chess? A_

**Sounds great. Can I come up with gadgets for it? T**

_I don't think we'll need gadgets for it but sure, why not? Gadgets are never in the way. A_

**And that's why I love you! T**

_I sincerely hope that's not the only reason. A_

**You know what I mean. T**

_I always do. A_

**Seriously though, I love you. T**

_Don't get sappy and boring now, Iron man! A_

**Yes, my angel! T**

_I'm starting Operation Chess tomorrow. A_

**I'll prepare the gadgets! T**

_Seriously, Tony, we won't need gadgets! A_

**Tony? Who's Tony? Call me Iron man! T**

_Iron idiot! A_

**You love me though. T**

_I love you. A_

—«·»—

"Angel! That is a surprise. It's your day off." Erik said when he opened the front door to find his kids' nanny, standing in front of him. 

"Well, you see,  _usually_ it's my day off." she replied "But right now I decided that I miss you and I want to come here and stay for a bit." 

Erik frowned confused. "Okay...?"

"Angel! Angel's here!" Wanda rushed to give her a hug.

"I am! Go tell Pietro I'm taking you out."

"Where? Where?" she jumped excitedly

"You remember Tony from the party?" she asked

"Duh!"

"Well, we kinda became good friends who also are in love with each other so he's gonna show us his labs." she said basking in her own clever idea while the kids were getting ready as fast as they could.

"What?" Erik said surrpsied

"What what? Friends fall in love sometimes. Deal with it." she winked at Erik

"But Charles isn't here yet." Wanda frowned

"Is Charles gonna meet us at the labs?" Pietro suggested

"No, Charles is gonna come here and... play chess with your dad." she said

Erik's eyes went wide "Angel, what are you doing?"

"Nothing" she grinned, pleased with herself. "Tony and I wanted to show them the labs, is all."

"Angel..."

"Why aren't daddy and Charles coming too?" Wanda asked, her excitement dying down a bit by the loss of her two favourite persons

"We can't all go to the lab! It's not a theatre. It's either you and Pietro or your daddy and Charles. Who do you prefer to go there?"

"Us! Us!" the kids supplied quickly

"It's decided then. Ta-ta!" Angel smiled to Erik and waved him goodbye while letting the kids go out first. "Have a good game of  _love_   _chess_." 

"What's love chess?" Pietro frowned as Angel closed the front door behind them. 

—«·»—

Erik took a deep breath. He hasn't been this nervous in a long time. He tried to sit down and read something or watch TV or just relax until Charles gets there but that was out of the question.

The levels of anticipation and anxiety in his body were rising up steadily, his heart was beating as fast as when Charles was kissing him and his palms were getting sweaty. It was like he was a bl%dy teenager! This was ridiculous!

He knew Charles wanted this too - they've talked about it a few times as if it was the most natural thing in the world - but with the kids around all the time, with Charles' hard work on his new company, with Charles buying back his father's old company and merging the two after Kurt Marko's bankrupt, and with Erik's shop they really couldn't find the right time to actually properly discuss it.

There were things Erik had to consider. Charles was in his 20's, Erik was 32 and with two kids. Was Charles really ready for a commitment that big? He wasn't getting in a relationship, he was getting in a full blown family life! Married with Children! What if Charles preferred they take it slow? What if Charles thought Erik was going too fast. But Erik  _wanted_ that so much! If it were up to him, they'd be married by now but that didn't mean Charles wanted the same. He wanted Charles to be ready, he didn't want to rush him.  

Also there was this other thing - Erik wanted his marriage proposal to be perfect! It had to be the right balance between romance and passion. He hoped he could create the right atmosphere for this. Charles and Erik had great chemistry, he didn't want to screw this up. He wanted Charles and him to be like clockwork. But was that even possible? Was perfect chemistry like that even possible between two people? Could he even approach this right so that Charles would really be swept off his feet? 

"If it is meant to be, it'll happen..." he kept repeating to himself while pacing around the flat nervously until Charles finally rang the doorbell. 

"Charles!" he melted into a smile the moment he saw him

"Erik! Charming weather!" Charles beamed and then added quietly with a wink. "You look handsome today."

Erik felt he was actually blushing which was ridiculous and so awesome at the same time.

"Where are the kids?" Charles frowned when he got in the flat "Why aren't they here to greet me? Are they sick?"

"No, Charles, they aren't sick... They're out with Angel for the day to--"

Charles bit his grinning lips. "Look at you! Taking care of everything."

"What? No! No, it's not like that, I swear! I didn't ask her to... she just came here and took them! I didn't even know she was gonna do it until--"

Charles chuckled. "Drop the act."

"I didn't plan it to--" 

"Please!" 

"I really mean it, Charles, I had nothing to do with..."

"That's it! I'm shutting you up!" Charles pulled him into a warm kiss.

It took Erik a few moments to relax into the kiss and kiss back. The next thing he knew the words were pouring right out of his heart and Charles was gazing at him with such affection, he could literally feel and see the love in his Charles' brilliant blue eyes. And then they both knew it - they wanted the same thing. They wanted to grow old together and have a family and Charles seemed just as eager about it as Erik was.

The mood kinda set itself on its own and all Erik had to do was give into it. It was the perfect balance of romance and passion, just like Erik hoped it would be.  _If it is meant to be, it'll happen..._

—«·»— 

"I'm nervous about telling them about us." Erik confessed "Kids can get weird when their father decides to remarry." 

Charles chuckled, buttoning Erik's shirt. "Are you serious? They've practically asked me to be their new mummy like a million times." 

"I'm still nervous." Erik pouted and Charles couldn't help the desire to kiss that pout away. 

He lifted himself on his tiptoes and wrapped his arms around Erik's neck. "You want me to do it for you?" 

Erik smiled, gazing into those blue eyes that he loved so much. "No, I can do it." 

"We can do it together." Charles wiggled his eyebrows "We're so good at it after all" 

"Damn you and your double entendre!" Erik grinned and pulled Charles closer to himself 

They spent a few moments kissing and when they finally pulled apart they realized they had audience. 

"And that, dear kids, is love chess." Angel announced proudly while Wanda and Pietro squeaked and jumped around the room happy and excited. 

"We're having a papa! We're having a papa! Charles is never leaving again!" they chanted blissfully

Charles and Erik blushed and laughed. "You still worried about their reaction?" Charles glanced at Erik to see him grinning like a shark. 

"I'm never really worried around you." Erik said softly. 

His hand reached for Charles' hand whose met him half the way. They held one another tightly, never letting go again.


	5. A Sequel!

Hello, my lovely readers! 

First I want to thank you all for all the kudos and comments and for loving this fanfic so much! It means so much to me and you all made me so very happy! Thank you! 

I wanted to let you know that I'm writing a sequel to this story. In case you want to read that too :) I hope you enjoy reading the sequel as much as you did the first story! 

Peace and Serenity! 

Cherikella

* * *

Summary of the Sequel:

**Sunlight of a Happy Distant Sunday**

It’s been a year since the events of Sundays with Charles. Charles and Erik are a married couple now, living together and raising Erik’s two children together. However, with Charles’ busy schedule over the new project he’s working on and with Erik desperately trying to remain independent and not have Charles pay for everything, the two find it hard to actually spend some quality time together. On top of that Pietro experiences certain troubles at school that he is not willing to share with his family. Sunday is over and weekdays took over. Would the new family manage to deal with the challenges ahead and keep the ray of sunlight of a happy distant Sunday?

 


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